Air New Zealand is reducing seat capacity over the next six months, by 1.5% than originally planned, as sickness levels among staff continue to cause disruption. The flag carrier plans to operate at 90% of pre-pandemic capacity for the next six months. It is also exploring options to lease a crewed widebody aircraft for the busy summer period. "Like many airlines around the world, we've been ramping up our operation at a time when Covid and the flu continues to impact the aviation industry. Looking at the disruptions our customers and staff have faced over the past five weeks, we've made some adjustments to reduce short-notice cancellations in the months ahead," chief executive officer Greg Foran states. The airline notes that customers affected by the flight change will be transferred to another flight on the same day for domestic travel, and for international travel, on the same day or a day either side of their original booking. Those who cannot be accommodated within these timeframes will be allowed to change their booking online, opt into credit or request a refund, it adds. “We’re pulling out all the stops to minimise disruption and provide surety for our customers over the next six months. We have rehired or brought on more than 2,000 pilots, airport staff, cabin crew, contact centre and engineers, and we’re going as fast as we can with recruitment and training,” Foran states.

Airbus delivered 46 aircraft to 30 customers in July. These included 40 single-aisles: 20 A321neos, 14 A320neos, one A319neo (for a private customer) and five A220-300s. From its widebody lines, Airbus delivered five A350-900s (three to Turkish Airlines and two to Air China) and an A330-300 (to lessor Altavair), the airframer's latest order and delivery data shows. The European airframer received 401 orders during the month. The largest was an order for 100 aircraft (68 A321neos and 32 A320neos) from China Eastern Airlines. China Southern Airlines ordered nine A319neos, 23 A320neos and 64 A321neos, while Air China ordered five A319neos, nine A320neos and 50 A321neos. EasyJet placed an order for 56 A320neos, Shenzhen Airlines for 18 A320neos and 14 A321neos, and Delta Air Lines for 12 A220-300s. LATAM Airlines Group placed an order for 17 A321neos. American Airlines, Jet2 and Spirit Airlines ordered four, three and five A321neos, respectively. Additionally, Airbus received an order for 10 A321neos from an undisclosed customer. Turkish Airlines placed an order for two A350-900s. Meanwhile, four A350-900 orders from Aeroflot were deleted from the airframer's backlog. In December 2021, Airbus recorded two A350-900 deliveries to Aeroflot but the aircraft could not be transferred to the Russian carrier because of international sanctions. Nine A350-900 orders from Aeroflot remain in Airbus's backlog. Ethiopian Airlines switched four A350-900 orders to the larger -1000 variant. The African carrier has another two A350-900s on order.

American Airlines expects to take delivery of its first Boeing 787 of 2022 as early as 10 August following delivery resumptions announced by the Federal Aviation Administration. The 787-8 delivery (MSN 66000) will be the Fort Worth-based carrier's first since April 2021, it says in a statement shared. The widebody will be delivered from Charleston and American expects it to enter commercial service "in the coming weeks". In a statement, the FAA said: "Boeing has made the necessary changes to ensure that the 787 Dreamliner meets all certification standards. The FAA will inspect each aircraft before an airworthiness certificate is issued and cleared for delivery. We expect deliveries to resume in the coming days." Following the delivery of MSN 66000, American will have 47 active 787 family aircraft in its fleet with an additional 42 on order, according to the airline. It manages most of its 787s itself, while nine are managed by lessors, including four -8s by BOC Aviation and five -9s by ORIX Aviation. Boeing paused 787 deliveries in June 2021 and has since been working with the FAA to address manufacturing issues for those aircraft.